Gaza Interior Ministry: "We do not need experts from abroad"

The Gaza
Minister of the Interior Fathi Hammad said that the Interior
Ministry is fighting a relentless war with the Israeli
Occupation, requiring ongoing efforts to identify and
incapacitate collaborators, who undermine national security
by providing the enemy with information about the Gaza
Strip. Hammad stressed that the Internal Security Service
constantly and persistently pursues and collects data about
spies.

"The Interior Ministry develops its security and
administrative functions by implementing crackdowns, to
spread awareness and to give collaborators opportunities for
repentance," he explained to Interior Ministry's Raed Abo
Jarad.

Minister Hammad calls upon parents to keep a
watchful eye on their children in this age of high-tech
communication, appealing for increased social and popular
awareness.

Hammad also outlined the extraordinary
progress accomplished by the Interior Ministry in the fields
of administration, training, and security sciences
education.

"Every year the Interior Ministry evaluates
the performance of its agencies and administrative processes
to identify and address any deficiencies, and to strengthen
and build upon the successes in its general plans," he
explained.

He pointed out that the Interior Ministry
tries to build constructive relationships with all factions
of the Palestinian people, saying that the door of the
Interior Ministry is open to all citizens with a grievance,
whose concerns can be solved either via Reform men or
through judicial associations.

At the administrative
level, the Minister assured that the Ministry uses a
merit-based selection process, selecting its employees
according their qualifications and personal integrity, and
the examinations for vacant positions are advertised in the
mass media.

Regarding electronic upgrading of the
Ministry, Fathi Hammad revealed that the Ministry is making
advances towards electronic government. "We have the
capacity to attain electronic government, however ongoing
Israeli attacks form an obstacle. Despite this, citizens’
affairs are being electronically archived in record time,"
he noted.

Concerning the Rafah Border Crossing, Hammad
explained that the Interior Ministry is working hard to
provide solutions to Crossing problems, acknowledging that
the Rafah Border closure by Egyptian Authorities has led to
a huge crisis.

Hammad observed that the Interior Ministry
has developed a good relationship with citizens since the
former Interior Minister, Said Syam, was assassinated in
Alforkan War in 2008-2009, the 21-day Israeli war on the
Gaza Strip which targeted the civilian headquarters of the
Interior Ministry.

Hammad said the Interior Ministry does
not face any difficulties in attracting quality recruits,
but it does face difficulties with the lack of security and
police headquarters, which were totally destroyed during the
Alforkan war.

He said constructing new headquarters
requires massive efforts, as the Interior Ministry has
witnessed significant development over last five years at
various levels, such as personnel and administration.

The
Interior Minister emphasised that Gaza needs neither experts
nor officers from abroad to train its cadres, saying, "We
are entirely qualified to train our own as a result of our
unique situation and experience.”

Fathi Hammad explained
that the Interior Ministry has advanced security education
by inaugurating the Palestinian Police Academy in 2009,
which has recently opened two new faculties: Naval Sciences
and Strategic Sciences.

Concerning plans for upgrading
training opportunities in the Ministry, Hammad informed that
the Interior Ministry has recently introduced schools for
each specialty, such as the National Security Forces school,
the Antidrug school and the General Intelligence school
.

These additions will also assist with documenting the
experiences of the security services in the context of
training for affiliates of the Interior Ministry.

The
Minister made it clear that the significant advancements in
the professionalization of Gaza’s security services whilst
maintaining and improving its surveillance and protective
functions, were made without external
assistance.

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